Because it’s a lazy Sunday afternoon. Because I need a moment of light relief after rewatching “Inland Empire” and plunging back into “Dogville” — I’m working on my end-of-decade Top 50, can’tcha tell? Because I personally get more fluttery with excitement about critics’ awards than any well-adjusted guy should.
Because of all these things, my best guesses for the outcome of today’s two-part L.A. critics’ awards are after the cut. I’ll be bringing you the winners as soon as they are announced — at 12.30 and 14.30 PST.
Meanwhile, you’ve been guessing away at these gongs in previous spaces Kris designated for the purpose — but who wants to take a stab at the tech categories? The LAFCA always do interesting things there. (Their music award is, annually, the most well-judged of the season, if you ask me.)
Best Picture: “The Hurt Locker”
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, “The Hurt Locker”
Best Actor: Colin Firth, “A Single Man”
Best Actress: Catalina Saavedra, “The Maid”
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
Best Supporting Actress: Mo’Nique, “Precious”
Best Screenplay: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, “Up in the Air”
Best Foreign Language Film: “Summer Hours”
Best Documentary: “The Beaches of Agnes”
Best Animated Feature: “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
Best Cinematography: Christian Berger, “The White Ribbon”
Best Production Design: K.K. Barrett, “Where the Wild Things Are”
Best Music Score: Joe Hisaishi, “Ponyo”
New Generation Award: Gabourey Sidibe
Now for the real prediction: each and every one of these will be wrong.
Comments
29 responses to “Final LAFCA guesses”
Actor: Viggo Mortensen and George Clooney tied
Actress: Carey Mulligan
Supp. Actor: Stanley Tucci for whatever
Supp. Actress: Mo’Nique
Director: Kathryn Bigelow
Picture: An Education
Why do you think it won’t happen? The first 7 categories (aside from best actress) seem perfectly possible.
Best Picture: A Serious Man
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Best Screenplay: A Serious Man
Best Actor: Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart (or, quite possibly Colin Firth, A Single Man)
Best Actress: Carey Mulligan, An Education
Best Supporting Actor: Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds
Best Supporting Actress: Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Documentary/Non-Fiction Film: The Cove
Best Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon
Best Animated Film: Up
Best Cinematography: Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker (or Eduard Grau, A Single Man)
Best Production Design: A Serious Man
Best Music Score: Abel Korzeniowski, A Single Man
I’m going out on a limb and predicting Abbie Cornish to take Best Actress.
Ziyad: Not because I don’t think they’re likely. (That’s why I’m predicting them, after all!) Just because I’m always, ALWAYS wrong with these guys!
If it becomes another Up in the Air/Clooney/Mulligan/etc etc lovefest then this years awards season will become one of those boring if slightly frustrating years where 2009 comes across as a weak year in cinema, when in fact it has been pretty cool.
slightly off topic, I’ve loved the Best Performances: 1995, 96, 97 … that this site has been doing. Can we now do something like, Best Cinematography: 1995, 96 … 07, etc. ???
Back on topic, if Up in the Air wins a lot, it may tip the sale for me towards overhype (all the Avatar talk) because I haven’t seen it. I hope it’s as good as everyone leads on. And Carey Mulligan should not be winning all the critics awards. She’s very good. But winning everything? Don’t get it. I’d love to see Woody pop up again, haha.
If Up In The Air doesn’t win the big ones, I think A Serious Man will get the script award. Then again, they probably HAVE to show some love for Up In The Air.
I thnk The Hurt Locker and A Serious Man are the two most overrated films of the year. Which is why they are bound to win a lot of awards.
The Los Angeles Film Critics award for music is the ONLY annual film award worth taking seriously for film music/soundtracks. It’s what the Oscar ought to be for music, but isn’t. The Oscar for music is usually given out perfunctorily as a prize for a well-received film. They have been getting it mostly right since they started doing it in 1976.
daveylow, YES to ‘The Hurt Locker’.
But I actually found myself quite taken with ‘A Serious Man’ (and that’s coming from a generally non-Coen fan).
For me, ‘The Hurt Locker’ was BORES-ville, with a sprinkling a tense scenes, and stellar acting.
Here is a list of past LAFCA music awards:
notesinthedark.wordpress.com/los-angeles-film-critics-awards-list/
Oh, a Best Score mention for “Ponyo” would be too cool!
Best Picture: Inglorious Basterds (No Guts No Glory)
Best Director: Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Best Screenplay: An Education
Best Actor: Colin Firth, A Single Man (or Morgan Freeman, Invictus)
Best Actress: Carey Mulligan, An Education
Best Supporting Actor: Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones (or Waltz)
Best Supporting Actress: Julianne Moore, A Single Man
Documentary/Non-Fiction Film: The Cove
Best Foreign Language Film: The White Ribbon
Best Animated Film: Up
Best Cinematography: Bright Star
Best Production Design: Nine
Best Music Score: Bright Star
I am going No Guts No Glory
Best Pic – Bright Star / Avatar
Best Actresss Tilda Swinton / Abbie Cornish
Best Actor – Viggo Mortenson
Best Director – Spike Jonze
Best Supporting Actor – Woody Harrelson
Best Supporting Actress – Julianne Moore
Doc – Anvil
Foreign – A Prophet
Animated – Up / Fantastic Mr Fox
Cinematography – Lovely Bones
Production Design – Bright Star
Music – Up
I hope Meryl Streep wins.
Forgot Screen Play – Its LA they should throw a bone to QT so I am going to say Inglorious
Best Picture – THE HURT LOCKER
Best Director – KATHRYN BIGELOW
Best Actor – JEREMY RENNER
Best Actress – MERYL STREEP
Best Supporting Actor – CHRISTOPH WALTZ
Best Supporting Actress – VERA FARMIGA
Best Screenplay – (500) Days of Summer
Best Cinematography – Inglorious Basterds
Best Production Design – Nine
Best Original Music Score – Bright Star
Best Animated Film – Up
Best Foreign Language Film – Th White Ribbon
Best Documentary – Food, Inc.
If even top critics’ groups like the LAFCA start giving awards to Clooney for his acting, I’ll lose faith in anything associated with awards season. And please somebody finally give an award to Colin Firth or Jeremy Renner or Meryl!
I agree with you Ross. I hate all this George Clooney love. He plays the same part every time – George Clooney!!
Yeah for MERYL!!! I want some awards group to give Ben Foster an award for Best Actor. Now wouldn’t that shake things up!! :)
As silly as lists may be, they serve a purpose: just reading that Guy is considering “Inland Empire” and “Dogville” for his best of the decade list makes me want to see them. I loved “Mulholland Drive,” but somehow never got around to “Inland Empire.” And I was wild for “Europe/Zentropa” and the first series of “The Kingdom,” but I never saw “Dogville” or the other Lars Von Trier movie of the same ilk (the title escapes me). Please put some comedies on your list so I know which ones to go back to!
Love that you are watching DOGVILLE which happens to be my favorite film of the decade (I worked on my list yesterday but number one was fairly easy for me!) Looking forward to seeing your list.
I thought INLAND EMPIRE was a combo of the sublime and the utter ridiculous, and too long.
6.5/10
Yeah did not like Inland Empire at all….but Mulholland Drive is my favorite film of the decade.
Best Actor: Colin Firth
Best Actress: Charlotte Gainsbourg
Best Supporting Actor: Woody Harrelson
Best Supporting Actress: Mo’nique
While I don’t think they’ll give it to it, I love your thinking out of box and giving Joe Hisaishi for Ponyo the prediction.
MUSIC/SCORE: T-Bone Burnett and Stephen Bruton, “Crazy Heart”
Runner-up: Alexandre Desplat, “Fantastic Mr. Fox”
PRODUCTION DESIGN: Philip Ivey, “District 9″
Runner-up: Rick Carter and Robert Stromberg, “Avatar”
CINEMATOGRAPHY: Christian Berger, “The White Ribbon”
Runner-up: Barry Ackroyd, “The Hurt Locker”
SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Mo’Nique, “Precious”
Runner-up: Anna Kendrick, “Up in the Air”
SUPPORTING ACTOR: Christoph Waltz, “Inglourious Basterds”
Runner-up: Peter Capaldi, “In the Loop”
SCREENPLAY: Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner, “Up in the Air”
Runner-up: Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci and Tony Roche, “In the Loop”
DOCUMENTARY/NON-FICTION FILM: “The Beaches of Agnès” and “The Cove” (tie)
DOUGLAS E. EDWARDS INDEPENDENT/EXPERIMENTAL FILM/VIDEO: C.W. Winter and Anders Edstrom, “The Anchorage”
Results from LAFCS (hat tip Awrads Daily) – so far
my ngng tally 0!!! – Yay me
INLAND EMPIRE is amazing and brilliant.
Well, you nailed Picture/Director, got the runner-up for Actor, and properly sensed an outside choice for Actress, albeit in a different direction. Job well done!